The Invite today: Olivia Wilde's comedy heads nationwide

A dinner-party comedy built around just four stars is becoming one of 2026's biggest critical breakouts. Olivia Wilde's The Invite, starring Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz alongside its director, is playing in select theaters and is set to expand nationwide on July 10. The film turns one increasingly uncomfortable night into a story about marriage, desire and the private resentments couples carry into public view.

What We Know So Far

The Invite follows Angela and Joe, played by Wilde and Rogen, whose marriage has lost its spark. Their upstairs neighbors, Hawk and Piña, played by Norton and Cruz, arrive for dinner and make a proposition that forces the hosts to confront their relationship. The night unfolds in a single San Francisco apartment, where jokes, arguments and disclosures steadily change what each character understands about the others.

The film was adapted from a Spanish story that began as Cesc Gay's play The Neighbors Upstairs and became the 2020 movie Sentimental. The material has since been adapted in several countries. Wilde told IndieWire that the repeated adaptations suggested a universal core: difficult relationships translate across cultures.

The production method was unusually concentrated. Variety reported that Wilde spent 21 days filming on the stage and two more days on location, shooting the story in sequence. IndieWire described a 23-day shoot and a two-week improvisational rehearsal period that allowed the actors to reshape dialogue and character details as production moved forward.

That process extended to the ending. Wilde said she and Rogen continued workshopping it until the final days of filming, eventually removing dialogue and trusting silence to communicate what the central couple had decided. The movie's confined setting also became part of its design: rooms, hallways, windows and mirrors create spaces where characters can hide, watch and hold conversations away from their partners.

Non-monogamy

Relationships involving multiple intimate, romantic or sexual partners with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.

Compersion

The joy someone feels about a partner experiencing pleasure with another person, a term explained within the film.

What People Are Saying

Wilde has described the movie as more personal than she initially understood. Speaking to USA Today, she said making the film required the same openness she was asking from the cast.

“If I am asking you guys to be honest, then I'm going to be honest.”

Norton said audiences may react to Joe and Angela differently depending on their own experiences with relationships. That projection is central to the film's appeal: viewers are not simply watching a couple argue, but deciding what outcome they hope those characters reach.

“Some people are going to be in a place in their life where they want there to be hope, and some people will be saying, ‘Run, girl.’”

Critical reaction has also been unusually strong. Forbes reported a 96% Rotten Tomatoes critic score from 143 reviews, along with a 93% audience score at the time of its report. The Guardian praised Rogen's comic performance and the film's ability to move between embarrassment, tension and emotion.

How This Affects You

For U.S. moviegoers, the immediate change is access. After beginning in select theaters, The Invite is scheduled to expand nationwide on July 10, giving audiences outside its initial markets a chance to see it theatrically.

The wider significance is the kind of movie receiving that release. Wilde told Variety she was adamant that the film not go directly to streaming after distributors approached it following Sundance. A dialogue-heavy independent comedy, mostly confined to one apartment, is being positioned as a theatrical experience rather than home viewing.

The subject matter may also drive discussion beyond the theater. The movie introduces terms and ideas associated with non-monogamy while keeping its focus on communication, resentment and the gap between the life people have and the life they imagined.

Coming Up

The Invite is set to expand nationwide on July 10 after its select-theater run. The next measure of its momentum will be whether strong reviews and audience reactions translate into sustained interest as more U.S. theaters begin showing it.

At a Glance

• The Invite stars Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz.
• The story centers on two couples and one increasingly revealing dinner party.
• Wilde directed the film and shot the main production in story order.
• The ending continued evolving during the final days of filming.
• Forbes reported a 96% Rotten Tomatoes critic score from 143 reviews.
• The nationwide U.S. expansion is scheduled for July 10.